Welcome to the third HLS challenge for May and this time it's Christmas. It's the perfect opportunity to get ahead with those Christmas cards and avoid the rush later in the year.
I have gone with the optional theme as I usually do - Mistletoe. The stamp is a magazine freebie from last Christmas which was still in it's packaging.
It's the start of May in Australia, although not quite here yet! So that means it's time for the new HLS Wateercolour Challenge.
As always it is Anything Goes. I decided to use a Simon Says Stamp image that I hadn't used before, and chose a pastel colour palette. I smooshed the background with Speckled Egg and Scattered Straw Distress Ink.,then fussy cut the image.
It was my youngest son's birthday last month and he is a keen mountain biker so his card had to reflect that. I found a cut file on Silhouette which I used. I cut it out twice, once in blue and once in black so that I could make it look sort of like his bike.
It looked a bit naked just on a white background so before I glued it down I added mud splatters using SU's Gorgeous Grunge stamp set. For once he was suitably impressed! I'm sharing this over at Cardz for Guys who are looking for wheels and the Playground as snippets were used.
The challenge at Jingle Belles is to recycle in recognition of Earth is achallenge Day. This is the first time I have entered this challenge and I'm squeezing in at almost the last minute.
I thought I'd better get this post written today just in case I react to the 2nd Covid Jab which I had this morning. Not sure how it will react with the steroids I'm having to take.I do know though that I probably won't be as protected as I would be if I wasn't having to take them. It also took me three days to make these cards as I was having a couple of tired days. It is so easy to overdo things now!
The Twofer challenge this month is Leaves. I came across this die in my stash when I was looking for something else and thought I would use it. I've got no idea where I got it from or how long I've had it!
The first card was nice and easy. I cut the leaves out of green card and mounted it on a previously made background. The die cut frame was also in my bits and bobs drawer.
It's the middle of the month so time for a new challenge at Perfectly CAS, and this month it is "Wings".
Now I'm fairly sure that the popular choices will be butterflies, dragonflies,birds and bees. I decided to be different!
No NBUS here either as the plane is a very old SU stamp and the sentiment an old one from Clarity. I stamped the plane first then lined up the sentiment to look as though it was coming from the exhaust,. I stamped it in blue and red (very patriotic), reminiscent of the Red Arrows! It looked a bit naked so I masked off the rest of the card and carefully applied a very pale blue Copic - intentionally patchy _ for the sky.
Don't forget to use just one third of your card to join us. Lots more ideas on the challenge blog!
One of the blogs I follow frequently has paper pieced images onit and I always wonder hy I don't do more of it. Well this month the CAS Mix Up challenge is asking for paper piecing so I had to join in.
I had a rummage for a suitable stamp and found this old one from Little Claire Designs and thought it might make a good male card.
It was recently Roy's birthday and as he is very fond of oriental things having lived in Hong Kong many years ago, I wanted to make a suitable card. He is particularly fond of Buddha's and when I saw this stamp last year, I knew it would make a perfect card for him. I have to thank Jane for her enabling post here.
